There's a reason why Gonzaga's game-winning shot against UCLA on Thursday night in the Sweet 16 looked familiar. Bulldogs head coach Mark Few said it was right out of Jay Wright's Villanova playbook from the 2016 national championship game.
With 12 seconds left in Gonzaga's matchup against UCLA, the Bulldogs were trailing 76-75. That's when they called a play that everyone had seen before.
Julian Strawther inbounded the ball to Hunter Sallis and followed him up the court. Once Sallis got across halfcourt, he flipped a pass back to Strawther for a deep three-point shot that gave Gonzaga the lead.
It's a carbon copy of the play that Villanova used to defeat North Carolina in the 2016 NCAA championship game. On that night, the stakes were higher, as Nova's Kris Jenkins hit the shot as time expired to win the national championship.
Take a look at this video those shows both plays:
In his postgame press conference, Few admitted that Gonzaga has been practicing what it refers to as "Jay Wright's play."
"We practice that play," Few said. "That's Jay Wright's play he used at the end of the Villanova-Carolina game in the championship. That's what we call it."
Few also noted that Strawther himself insisted on running the play, and the Gonzaga coach agreed. It turned out to be the right call, because it sent the Bulldogs through to the Elite Eight.
Gonzaga will take on No. 4 seed UConn on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line. That game tips off at 8:49 p.m. ET on TBS.
